This blog is about architecture, urbanism, neighborhoods, historic preservation and other elements of the physical environment(s) of Central New York, including Syracuse and its many surrounding towns, villages, farms and natural features.

Monday, July 24, 2017

Westcott Neighborhood Ward Wellington Ward House Tour Wednesday Evening, July 26th, 5:30 - 7:30 pmI will be leading a walking tour of Arts & Crafts style houses designed by Ward Wellington Ward along Allen Street in Syracuse's Westcott Neighborhood this Wednesday evening form 5:30 to 7:30. We'll walk from the 300 block of Allen Street to Euclid Avenue.

Please note: the tour will only pass exteriors - there will be no entry into private houses.

We will have a stop for refreshments at the Morgan Dunne House at 464 Allen Street to celebrate the inclusion of the house on the National Register of Historic Places, and to hear plans for the upcoming restoration.

The tour starts at the SW corner of Allen Street and East Genesee Street. The tour will proceed if there is light rain. If there is a deluge we will reschedule.

I will discuss Ward's career, local trends in Arts &
Crafts inspired architecture as well associated historicist styles and
vernacular trends. I'll also speak a bit about the overall development
of Allen Street.

Between 1910 and 1923 Ward designed more than a dozen houses in the area, with about the same number designed and built in the University area immediately to the west. Even more houses by Ward were built by Ward in walking distance - in the along Salt Springs Road and in Scottholm .- we can visit these on another tour.

I've written before about some of these houses on this blog and on the WNA website. Here are some links:

About Me

Samuel D. GruberI am a cultural heritage consultant involved in a wide variety of
documentation, research, preservation, planning, publication, exhibition
and education projects in America and abroad.
I was trained as a medievalist, architectural historian and
archaeologist, but for 25 years my special expertise has developed in
Jewish art, architecture and historic sites. My various blogs about Jewish Art and Monuments, Central New York and Public Art and Memory allow me to
clear my email and my desk, and to report on some of my travels, by
passing on to a broader public just some of the interesting and
compelling information from projects I am working on, or am following.
Feel free to contact me for more information on any of the topics
posted, or if you have a project of your own you would like to discuss.

My Upcoming CNY Talks and Tours

Wednesday, Feb 5, 2014 1:00 pm (check for details) Syracuse Stage 820 E. Genesee Street Syracuse, NY 13210 Divided Loyalties: Jews and the Civil War In conjunction with performances of the play The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez I will discuss the involvement of Jews in the Civil War - on the North and south, and something about the often ambivalent Jewish attitude toward American slavery at the time.

Sunday, Feb 16, 2014 11:30 am Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas Great Synagogues of the World Jews are the “People of Book”, but surprisingly to many, they are also “People of the Building.” Given the opportunity, Jews have built beautiful synagogues for their communities for hundreds of years. Inspired by the detailed architectural accounts in the Bible, and also by their contemporary surroundings, Jews in many places have fulfilled the concept of Hiddur Mitzvah (glorify the commandment) through architecture and architectural decoration. Great synagogues have been built in Europe of since Middle Ages, but especially since the lavish inauguration of the Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam in the late 17th century the stream of impressive Jewish buildings has continued with little interruption on every inhabited continent throughout the world. This lecture illustrates this architectural and artistic heritage with historic and contemporary images, and traces its survival in the 21st century with special emphasis on lesser known “great synagogues,” on recently restored buildings, and on some of the newest synagogues built.